Book of Lost Things

Set in London at the time of the Second World War, ‘The Book of Lost Things’ is a rather sinister, rather grown-up child’s book, which explores the relationship between the ‘real’ world and the world of fairytales.

Twelve-year-old David is traumatised by the death of his beloved mother. As he mourns her, he seeks refuge in the fairytales which she loved so much. But soon, the fairytales begin creeping into his world, whispering to him while a crooked figure haunts his dreams.

His father marries the hospital administrator, Rose, who is pregnant with their son. The new family move into Rose’s big country house, but David sees the act as a betrayal of his mother. He rebuffs Rose’s attempts at friendship and seeks solitude in his new attic bedroom which is filled with old books.

As David’s sense of alienation increases with the arrival of newborn Georgie, he retreats further and further into his fantasy world until one day, he hears his mother calling to him, begging him to come and rescue her.

Following her instructions, David finds himself in another world — a world where fairy tales are real and your deepest, darkest fears are manifest. Once in this new world, David cannot return home and he is forced on a quest to find The Book of Lost Things.

In this land of twisted tales, the seven dwarves (who are trying very hard to foster a communist revolution) poison a grotesquely obese and very annoying Snow White. A seductive Little Red Riding Hood leads the wolf astray and an evil huntress splices the bodies of animals and children to create more intelligent prey.

Befriended by the noble Woodsman and Roland the Knight, David journeys through the land encountering the werewolf-like Loups, harpies and wormlike beasts, his every step followed, in the shadows, by the Crooked Man.

While he battles the outer demons, David is also faced with an inner quest where he is forced to choose between satisfying his own desires and protecting those too weak to defend themselves.

Like J.M Barry or C.S. Lewis, John Connolly explores this transition from boyhood to manhood by juxtaposing fantasy and real worlds. In many ways his work emulates the style of these writers and it is his deft use of words and deep exploration of the subject matter that sets this book apart from many contemporary children’s novels.

The novel subtly explores the influence which literature has on thought: what we read shapes how we perceive the world. Connolly demonstrates the unconscious nature of this relationship by creating delicate links between the real and imaginary worlds. So the book on communism which David happens to glance over in the real world, manifests itself as the communist dwarves in the imaginary world.

Almost paradoxically, in a book which is filled with twisted tales and adult truths, the novel seems to caution against stories which bring about the loss of childhood innocence. The warning almost seems to be: treat stories with care because they can cause irreparable damage.

While this is ostensibly a child’s book, it is really the adult’s ‘book of lost things’. Indulge in a fantastical and ancient world where forgotten stories come to life and the journey of discovery is still fresh and magical.